Route ·
How people want to be seen
Look at the choices behind a portrait, from diplomatic friendship and private collecting to royal power, an artist’s self-image and a woman at a keyboard.
National Gallery / Your next move
Bring this chapter to life.
Keep exploring National Gallery with our travel partners.
Eight works connect clothing, objects, gestures and scale with the people a painting presents. A pair of portraits in Room 15 makes a direct comparison between Titian and Rembrandt. The visit ends with Vermeer in Room 25.
Most stops are portraits. Rembrandt’s Belshazzar’s Feast adds a biblical story that turns the signs of royal status into a moment of alarm. Allow 90–120 minutes, including the transfer to the northern galleries.
Photo gallery 1
Image credits
- xiquinhosilva · Central Hall, National Gallery.jpg · CC BY 2.0 · WebP / AVIF
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/bryansjs · Entrance hall of the National Gallery, looking north.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0 · WebP / AVIF
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/bryansjs · Entrance hall of the National Gallery, looking south.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Diego Delso · Bóveda de la sala 36, Galería Nacional, Londres, Inglaterra, 2014-08-11, DD 165-167 HDR.JPG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Philafrenzy · National Gallery Sainsbury Wing staircase.jpg · CC0 · WebP / AVIF